Prankster held for sending cops on wild goose chase

After being sent on a wild goose chase on March 22 by an anonymous caller, the Hadapsar police finally managed to get their hands on the prankster.u00a0Following a call from the police control room about a woman stabbed to death in Hadapsar mandai, the jurisdiction police had swung into action and rushed to the bustling area only to find out that somebody had played a prank on them and no such incident had taken place.

For cheap thrills: Rohit Kadam, a Std X dropout who was arrested for calling the police control room on March 22 and giving false information about a women having been stabbed to death in Hadpsar vegetable market

On April 5, the Hadapsar police succeeded in nabbing the prankster who had made a fool out of them. The arrested suspect, identified as Rohit Tukaram Kadam (19), is a Std X dropout and resident of Sadesatara Nali in Hadapsar.

Hide-and-seek game
Senior Police Inspector Pandharinath Mandhare from the Hadapsar police station said, "On March 22, we had received a call from the police control room and were informed that a woman was stabbed to death in Hadapsar vegetable market in broad daylight. Our team comprising four officials and 20 police personnel immediately rushed to the spot, but after searching the area for more than an hour, we could not find anything and confirmed that it was a prank call."

Mandhare said that the police began investigations and traced the mobile number, which led them to Kadam. "When we called him on the number, he instructed us to search and also told us that it was not his work to investigate where the murder had actually taken place and disconnected the call," Mandhare said. The inspector aid that they later traced the mobile location and zeroed in on him on April 5.

Perverse pleasures
During sustained interrogation, Kadam revealed that he wanted to play a prank on the police to harass them. "He told us that enjoyed himself when the police rushed to the spot and began searching for the murder spot, which did not actually exist," said Mandhare.

The police said that Kadam worked at a catering company in Hadapsar. His mother, who had come to the police station, also appeared frustrated and complained that her son was mischievous.

"We have arrested him for giving fake information to the police," said Police Constable Pradip Gurav, who had rushed to the Hadapsar mandai area after receiving the control room call.u00a0